H D - S E N S E I

A view on
Hi-def
discs by Gary W. Tooze

Introduction:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.

• The Investigation - An In-Depth Look at
Righteous Kill (14:23) HD
• The Thin Blue Line - The Darker Side of the Police
Force (19:05) HD

•
Trailer in HD (2:23)

• BD-LIVE

Disc 2 - Digital Copy

Bitrate Graph:

Product Description: Righteous Kill pairs two cinematic icons whose
previous screen collaboration, Michael Mann's 1995 Heat, was absolutely
electrifying despite minimal time together in a long movie. Now in their
mid-60s, De Niro and Pacino are playing veteran cops who, despite being
grizzled, should look much younger than these actors. The incongruent casting
makes the dark story improbable from the get-go, and things get worse as
dialogue by screenwriter Russell Gurwitz quickly sounds like a parody of vintage
cop movie cliches. It's a strain to find anything that works. The two leads play
longtime detectives and partners whose weariness with rapists, murderers,
pedophiles and other villains appears linked to the acts of a serial killer
taking out bad guys who got away with heinouscrimes. A videotape confession by
De Niro's tightly-coiled Turk--who has been seeking the killer with Pacino's
Rooster--would seem to establish his ties to the events. But the movie isn't
over until it's over, assuming one is still with the movie after plodding along
with its facsimile of noir conviction. Director Jon Avnet never gets a handle on
Righteous Kill's gritty heart, superficially pushing suspense along with
heavy-handed editing, and adding unpersuasive sauce in the form of Turk's
somewhat S&M sexual relationship with a female cop (Carla Gugino).

The Film:

The fact that more police
do not lose their moral footing is an amazing thing.
Having to put their own lives in harm’s way in order to
protect us, police officers have to immerse themselves
in the underside of humanity with all the stench that
such a place emits. When their personal danger and
sacrifice is added to the often frustrating reality that
dangerously destructive people are able to avoid
prosecution because of legal technicalities, then a
sense of righteous indignation can overwhelm the soul.
Though this film chronicles an extreme reaction, a
psychological and moral study of these pressures is
presented in Jon Avnet’s film “Righteous Kill.”

Written by Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man), the story is
complex and engaging though its subject is dark and
unpleasant. The central characters are two veteran
detectives, each with over thirty years of service in
the New York City Police Department. Turk (Robert De
Niro) is the passionate and compassionate member of the
partnership who angrily reacts to both the horror of the
crimes he investigates as well as the injustices he sees
in the courtroom. Rooster (Al Pacino) is the intelligent
and contemplative partner who plays chess in the park as
well as evaluates the next moves of the killers and
rapists they are trying to capture...

A reasonably competent
Blu-ray
in terms of image quality. Righteous Kill doesn't
have any glaring flaws and similarly doesn't show any
demonstrative attributes in terms of high-definition.
Anchor Bay's release uses a solid 1080P MPEG-4 transfer
to support
the film's rather even qualities. Director Avnet hasn't
chosen any obvious signature strokes on the Righteous
Kill canvas. There is a bit of shadow play but
essentially we are presented with the story in generic
cinematic terms. The 2.35 frame isolates a few
characters well - and while I
didn't find
detail overwhelmingly sharp - it is certainly adequate
and far superior to the corresponding DVD
(simultaneously released). My one complaint would
be that brighter scenes tends to look a shade green - of which I have
no explanation.
This is presented in the original 2.35 aspect ratio -
the disc takes up 32.6
Gig (the film itself almost 26 Gig) with a solid bitrate of
34.3
Mbps. The image is expectantly very clean - exhibits a
shade of depth
and the dual-layered disc seem presents a pleasing image
and the film's visuals of infrequent facial close-ups,
dimly lit locales of apartments, bars and police
stations which produce a settled and realistic
presentation. While I wouldn't consider this a terribly
dynamic image it is without impeding flaws and does a
comfortable job in representing the film.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio & Music:
A
TrueHD sole offering from Anchor Bay. The film's track is
not nearly as aggressive as one might expect from a
vigilante cop drama. There is some gunplay and I'd say
the audio quality is fairly akin to the image strength
in that it seems competent. The desired effects reach
the Surround system speakers but they are few and far
between in Righteous Kill.

Ed Shearmur
has been composing scores for TV and film for about 15
years although nothing I could say was particularly
noteworthy.
However, I did like this soundtrack and was amused with
the inclusion of Nat 'King' Cole's "Straighten Up and
Fly Right". There
are
English and Spanish optional subtitles.

Extras:
There is commentary by director Jon Avnet (unmentioned
in the Special Features menu) and I am enjoying his
gentle rhetoric more each time I hear him. It's all
fairly PC but he sounds quite genuine and is full of
positive-ness about his cast and crew. You won't find
any gossip or slander here - it's some production
details and quite a bit on De Niro and Pacino, plus some
past projects. Frankly, I'd have to agree with all his
compliments as the cast in this were very strong
in Righteous Kill - right down the line. We get
two standard
featurettes - a shade more than 1/2 an hours worth -
both in HD. There is a short one on the film and a more
entertaining one on the police force. Like the film
though, both are entertaining, and short, enough to
watch completely through. There is an HD trailer, a
Blu-ray
format advert (preaching to the converted) and a BD-LIVE
option (not functioning at the time of this review.)

Bottom line:

Righteous
Kill is worth seeing - if only for the interplay of
the two main actors. The
Blu-ray is
passable but like the film is not going to make any
'best of the year' lists. Still, I was anxious to
see De Niro and Pacino actually talk onscreen together
after the diner scene in Heat.
It has, in my opinion, a weak twist that was telegraphed
by trying so hard to utilize "Occam's Razor". So
although the film is not particularly intelligent - it's
a good enough for one to enjoy for an entertaining night
in the home theater. It's probably best to temper your
expectations and simply enjoy the cop-drama as it
unfolds - this is no classic but still worth seeing.